June 2, 2019, (UK) Daily Mail: 'It helps them cope with life': Primary school children are MEDITATING in class to deal with stress and anxiety (Australia) https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7097291/It-helps-cope-life-Children-young-five-meditating-deal-stress.html Primary school-aged children have started meditating at school in a bid to help combat stress. Teachers at Brighton State School in Brisbane have started teaching their students meditation every day. The 10-minute meditation sessions have been introduced as the Queensland Education Department said about one in seven young people, aged between four and 17, experience some form of mental health issue every year. Brighton State School teacher Sarah Mailey said meditation should be added to the list of compulsory subjects as it's important for children to learn how to 'cope with life'…. Ms Mailey and her colleague, who are currently working on a mindfulness strategy for the entire school, practice meditation with their students on a daily basis. … The youngsters gather on the classroom carpet and listen to calming music and a guided meditation track. 'Those are the social skills that really need to be explicitly taught rather than just incidental.' A growing number of teachers across the country have followed suit and are teaching meditation. The move comes as there's an increasing worry there is a possible anxiety epidemic among schoolchildren…. Addie Wooten, who runs Smiling Mind, said the program was important as more than 50 per cent of mental health conditions begin before a child reaches 12 years old. She said mental illness among children was increasing and it was important for teachers to look into new ways of supporting the youngsters. In the 2019 budget the Health Department promised $2.5million to go towards Smiling Mind, a school-based mindfulness program (File picture)
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